Parting Clouds
by scifiromance
Summary: Six months Renee left him, taking Bella with her, can Charlie find his heart again when he decides to help an equally isolated young woman in trouble? Charlie/OC.
1. Chapter 1

June 1989. Forks, Washington.

Late night summer storm clouds had just begun to release their first volleys of rain when Officer Charlie Swan of the Forks Police Department drove up to his front porch in his patrol car. The house might have once been described as picturesque, but with its peeling white paint made the neglect obvious and the fact that the forest at the back, which stretched all the way to the Quileute reservation of La Push, had been allowed to creep within metres of the building's flimsy boundary fence and now cast a shadow like a brooding animal lying in wait to swallow the house whole, made the house appear as lonely and unloved as it's occupant as he climbed out of the car, wide brimmed hat pulled tight over his pale face as he made a run for the doorway.

Charlie cursed momentarily under his breath as his muddy boots squelched over the pile of letters that had been hastily delivered by the mailman long after he'd left to start his shift at the police station. As he picked up the top letter, in a smart, magnolia envelope now pitifully emblazoned with a faint boot print, all regret left him and an unpleasant mixture of dread and anger filled him. The sender's address was "Anderson, Evans and McCallum, Family Law. Phoenix, Arizona." Charlie swallowed hard to force the bile back down his throat as he threw the letter aside without opening it. He knew what it was, it was be the same, impersonal tone of all the others he'd received in the past two months, a request for the return of the divorce papers, fully signed and witnessed.

Gritting his teeth until his jaw hurt and taking off his hat to run a stressed hand through his dark, regulation cut, hair, his hand travelled by force of habit down to the police issue pistol at his hip. With practised hands he unloaded it before heading heavily upstairs, trying to think of anything but the documents gathering dust in the bottom drawer of his desk, the name "Renee Jane Swan" scrawled repeatedly across them, defying his hopes for his marriage as cruelly as the woman herself ever had.

After stowing the pistol safely away in his gun cabinet, he forced his leaden legs back towards the stairs, back down into the comfortable oblivion of TV dinners and sports channels until he could retreat to the station again for another day. However when his eyes moved to the room by the staircase, it's door ajar, he stopped frozen in his tracks, heart thumping painfully against his ribs as he walked to the threshold. Unwillingly, his gaze settled on the room's main feature, a pristine white crib. The pink fleece blankets within were already neatly folded back, ready to wrap around their little owner Billy now knew with crippling certainty would not return. Bella. _His_ Bella, for whatever Renee may say she was still his in the most fundamental of ways, by love and blood. His friends didn't understand why he hadn't signed for divorce, if he did then he would surely get visitation, but to be truthful to himself he wasn't sure if he could handle having her for a week or two, a mere snapshot of her life, only to give her back, lose her for another six months or more. Six months, it had been six months since he'd seen his baby; she turned nine months old today. If he saw her now, she wouldn't know him, wouldn't lie contentedly being rocked in his arms, but would be trying to walk, babbling… He gulped as he focused on the large photo of Bella on the cabinet, the last one he'd had taken of her, she'd be changed now, grown, he wasn't even comfortably sure he'd recognise her now if Renee came back… His vision blurred, wetness seeping down his exhausted, hollow, cheeks.

The harsh, penetrating ring of the telephone broke him out of his grieving reverie and sent him back into his own room in relief. He snatched up the phone on the fourth ring, "Hello, Swan Residence." He stated on autopilot.

A familiar voice echoed down the phone line, "Hey, old man. I'm heading over to Harry's while Sarah's off to her mother's with the girls. We've already got the beers marked out for you, not that I'd object to you bringing more."

Charlie's grip tightened around the phone as he shifted awkwardly, "Uhh, I've really got a lot of paperwork to go through Billy…" He hedged. He had known his two old friends long enough to realise they were attempting to distract him from the six month milestone since Renee had gone.

"Aww, come on Charlie!" Billy exclaimed, his exasperation evident in his tone. "You know it's the big Mariners game tonight…" He wheedled.

Charlie sighed, closing his eyes for a moment as the memory of bouncing a giggling Bella on his knee in front of the TV during a Mariners game flashed through his mind. "Alright Black." He finally conceded tiredly. "Give me an hour to do the essential paperwork and I'll be over there for the start of the game, okay?"

"Great!" Billy enthused in relief; his old friend had become disturbingly reclusive in recent months. "I'll keep a couple of those beers waiting for you."

* * *

><p>The driver of the Greyhound bus sank heavily back into his seat as he pulled up at his final destination, the tourist trap that was Port Angeles, for now blanketed in thunderous darkness and soaked with rain. "Last stop, everybody off!" he shouted impatiently behind him, keeping the engine revving to push the sleepy passengers onwards. Gradually he watched them file off, eventually rising reluctantly from his seat to give the bus one last look over before he parked in the depot for the night and headed back home to Seattle in the morning. He grunted irritably when he saw that one passenger still lingered, her head resting heavily on the window pane, seemingly totally oblivious. "Excuse me miss." He called over, getting no response from the young woman, her gleaming black hair hanging over her dozing face. He stomped over to her seat, muttering when he saw her completely, an Indian, or Native American as they wanted him to call them now. "Can't you speak English?" he muttered before leaning over her, "Last stop, wake up and get off!" He announced loudly by her ear, shaking her hard when she still didn't wake.<p>

She jumped in violent shock at his touch, her head bouncing painfully off the window as she did so. For a moment there was confusion and in her large chocolate eyes as she focused on him, he could guess the reason why, there was a chink of a cut in her left eyebrow and the sickly green of a recently healed bruise tainted the russet skin around her eye socket. Despite this her expression quickly hardened, frowning up at him. "Are you deaf?" he told her irately, "We've been at Port Angeles for the last ten minutes and I'm offloading all passengers, including you."

She swept her long hair away from her face, her frown becoming defiant. "Yes actually, I _am _deaf." She replied shortly as she slung her tattered blue denim shoulder bag over her arm and walked past him and off the bus in a dignified but hurried manner.

Her feet landed straight in a puddle as she stepped onto the pavement. Yes, definitely back in Washington, always raining, she thought to herself as she trudged down the street. There were very few other people on the street but she still kept her body close to the protection of buildings as she walked, teeth chattering as she pulled out her purse, $3.50 in coins, that was all she had left. She still wasn't sure what she'd been thinking coming back up here, it had just been a desperate decision to leave where she had been. She stopped by a pay phone, laughing at the irony, her family, for obvious reasons never expected a phone call from her, but now it was necessary. She just had to hope it wasn't little Leah who would pick up the phone. She slid into the booth, picking up the phone and slotting a coin in as she dialled the number. Holding the mouth piece near her lips and the useless earpiece at an angle, she waiting until the words flashed up on the tiny monitor asking for more money, meaning someone had picked up. "Harry? Sue? It's Cathy. I'm in Port Angeles…"

* * *

><p>Charlie laughed under his breath when he entered the Clearwater home to see Harry and Billy already on their fifth beer, chortling to themselves. "Chaawie…" Billy slurred, "Good to see you old man…"<p>

"You too Billy, Harry." Charlie greeted them warmly before muttering to Harry's wife Sue as she entered the room, "Couldn't you have held them back until I got here?" he asked with a small smile.

Sue snorted. "Obviously not." She replied wryly. "Go on and enjoy yourself Charlie." She told him hurriedly as the phone rang and she went into the tiny kitchen to answer it.

"Ready for the Mariners Officer Swan? You'll really have to start arresting them if they play any worse…" Harry began to say humorously.

He halted mid sentence as Sue's shocked gasp echoed from the kitchen, "Cathy?"

Charlie frowned questioningly at Harry. "Your sister Cathy? I thought she was at college in DC…"

"She was at Gallaudet yeah, she graduated last year though." Harry confirmed, "We haven't heard a peep from her since…"

"How is she using the phone?" Billy asked, "I mean she can't hear…"

"She can talk better than you Billy Black." Harry pointed out sharply, "She's probably using a text-phone in her apartment…"

"I don't think so Harry." Sue murmured as she re-entered the room, looking worried. "She didn't know who she was speaking to, just kept asking to be picked up from Port Angeles bus station." Sue ran an anxious hand through her hair, "She sounded upset about something, even scared…"

"I'll go get her…" Harry started, stumbling forward out of his chair.

"You're drunk Harry! And besides we all know you'll start to interrogate her!" Sue exclaimed hotly as Leah began to wail from her bedroom, woken by the ruckus. "I can't just go either…"

"I'll go." Charlie offered firmly, shooting Sue a reassuring look. "I haven't had anything to drink yet tonight and my patrol car is outside."

Harry laid a grateful hand on Charlie's shoulder as Charlie shrugged his coat back on and put on his hat. "Thanks Charlie. I really appreciate you going out to bring her home where she belongs."

"I'm glad to do it Harry." Charlie assured him warmly as he headed back outside, touched by his friend's trust in him.

**A/n: This is my very first attempt at a Twilight fic and I really hope you like it so far. Please review and tell me what you think, I'd really appreciate it. :D Thanks to Nikki1973 for encouraging me to write for this fandom, her fics are great!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/n: I know that Charlie and Renee were really young when they had Bella, but for the purposes of this fic Charlie is 25 and Cathy is 23. **

Charlie squinted through the rain lashing against the patrol's windscreen as he pulled off the main road which intersected Port Angeles and turned into the sprawling open air bus depot, anxiously scanning the drenched, wind harried streets for any sign of Cathy Clearwater, but she was nowhere to be seen. Sighing heavily, his brow knitted with concern for Harry's sake, he climbed out of the car, pulling up the flimsy collar of his police issue raincoat and pushing the brim of his hat over his damp face as he set out on the seemingly inevitable search. If he was completely honest with himself, his mental picture of Cathy wasn't particularly clear, although to be fair he probably hadn't seen the girl in over five years, when she'd graduated from her boarding school down in Seattle and had whittled the summer away on the res waiting for her college to start in the fall. Yeah, she must've been around with Harry then, but on the other hand, he'd been so wrapped up in Renee at that time he'd had little time for his childhood friends on the reservation, let alone the kid sister of one of them. He gritted his teeth at the thought of Renee; everything always seemed to lead back to her…

The sight of a small figure huddled by the phone booth knocked well worn sorrows and regrets from his mind and he blindly focused on the task at hand, trudging through the huge puddles until he reached the person's side and touched their arm.

He realised his mistake immediately as the figure jumped with an unnatural violence and a pair of panicky, but intensely beautiful, mahogany eyes stared into his. If he could have kicked himself at that moment he would have, instead an old recollection tugged at him from the back of his mind and he hurriedly clenched his right fist rubbed it against his chest repeatedly in small circles, having to hope that that meant "sorry".

She relaxed, but only slightly, he could see her gazing warily at his police uniform and had to wonder whether she was in some sort of trouble before her eyes focused directly on his face, confusion and a lack of recognition visible on her own. Quickly he raised the brim of his hat away from his face and her gaze narrowed in disbelief as the shadow was removed from his features. "Charlie? Charlie Swan?" she gasped out, gulping repeatedly as she did so.

It took Charlie a few seconds to respond, so struck was he at the change in her. He'd been expecting the skinny tomboy of a girl he'd known in youth, but this woman bared little resemble to who he remembered, with her petite but full figure, stunning eyes and luxuriant ebony hair. Even soaked to the skin and obviously exhausted, she was still breathtakingly beautiful. "Yeah, Cathy it's me." He finally answered her, awkwardly wringing his hands as she stared at him, as if she still didn't quite believe he was standing in front of her. "I'm sorry I frightened you like that, it was thoughtless of me." He apologised in embarrassment

Cathy shook her head quickly, shoving a few dripping locks of hair out of her eyes as she did so and looking equally embarrassed. "Oh no, it's okay…" She muttered, Charlie saw her hands flicker nervously as she spoke, "I've had worse than that before." Like that bus driver, she thought bitterly before again focusing on Charlie, "Why are you here? I thought Harry would…" Her voice trailed off before a wry smile crossed her lips, "Did you transfer to Port Angeles PD or something?"

Charlie gave a dry chuckle. "Me, leave Forks? You must not remember me very well Cathy!" Cathy felt blood rush to her cheeks. You have no idea… She thought ruefully. Charlie, thinking he'd stepped too far, jumped in hurriedly with the explanation he knew she wanted. "Actually I'm here as a favour, Harry was a little tipsy when you called, so I said I'd…"

Cathy smirked as she read his lips. "I should've known, there's a Mariners game on tonight after all." She remarked, feeling secure for the first in months as he smiled at her somewhat shyly in agreement. "I'm sorry about all this, if I'd known I was putting everyone to this much trouble I would've waited until morning…"

Charlie frowned at her, remembering Sue's observation that she didn't think her sister-in-law _could_ wait, but quickly hid his doubts with a gentle smile. "You couldn't have just waited out here in this weather! I'm glad to do it, really. Come on, my car is over here."

"Thanks." Cathy replied quietly, moving a flat palm downwards from her lips in the sign for "thank you". Charlie's own sign vocabulary didn't stretch beyond "okay", "sorry" and "thank you" and he was left wishing he'd learned more as they climbed in the car and headed onto the road again in an awkward silence.

"Harry and Sue have been doing really well." Charlie finally said after around fifteen minutes on the road. Normally he couldn't be considered a particularly willing talker but this silence was eating at him. "Leah's growing like a weed too." He added, glancing over to where she was leaning tiredly on the passenger side window.

"Pardon?" Cathy asked, flushing as he cringed slightly, "I'm sorry, it's just so dark in here I can't really see your lips." She explained.

"Oh right." Charlie replied, immediately switching on the ceiling light and moving the mirror to a position he hoped better reflected his lips. "Better?" he enquired.

"Much." Cathy answered brightly, touched by his thoughtfulness. "Thanks."

Charlie looked at her questioningly, he hadn't done anything any other decent person wouldn't have. "No problem." He replied, "I was saying that Harry and Sue are doing great and that Leah's grown a lot."

"That's good to hear." Cathy responded warmly, a regret tinged smile playing across her mouth, "I haven't seen them in so long. I didn't make the effort I suppose." She sighed before she couldn't stop herself.

"Well you are now and that's the important thing." Charlie replied sincerely.

"Yeah." Cathy agreed with some reluctance, though grateful for his kindness. "How are the Blacks doing?" she asked curiously wanting to move into a more neutral topic.

"They're doing fine, although I think Billy's under strain with being the chief of the tribe so young." He confided.

Cathy's expression became mournful. "Yes, I know how…heavy the weight of the tribe's expectations can weigh on a person, but he'll be fine. The Blacks have been chief for three generations after all!" Charlie nodded in thoughtful agreement but as far as she could see didn't reply. She sighed again, her nails digging into the sides of her chair as she asked the inevitable question politeness dictated must be asked. "How's Renee?"

Charlie stiffened as if she had burned him, his knuckles turning white on the steering wheel and his eyes suddenly completely fixated on the road. "Fine…as far as I know."

Cathy's frown deepened, wondering if she'd read his lips properly. That struck her as an extremely strange thing for him to say about his own wife, especially since Charlie's mind had always been so full of her before. She saw that their conversation was over and wished she'd obeyed her reignited feelings of old teenage jealousies and not mentioned the flippant blonde as the rest of the drive passed without so much as a word being spoken between them.

**A/n: PLEASE REVIEW! :D A big thank you to everyone who read/reviewed/alerted the first chapter, I really appreciate it and hope you still like the story.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/n: From this point in the story onwards, ASL will be written in **_ITALIC CAPITALS _**with finger-spelling indicated by hyphens, e.g. **_T-W-I-L-I-G-H-T_**. **

Charlie finally let his clenched hands fall away from his patrol car's steering wheel as the vehicle rumbled to a halt on the Clearwaters' gravel driveway. "We're…" He started to say but quickly halted in embarrassment when he realised that there was no way Cathy could see his lips, he'd avoided either engaging her in further conversation or even looking at her since she'd brought up Renee. Sheepishly he turned in his seat to face her, only to find his passenger sound asleep. He was surprised to feel a small smile forming involuntarily across his lips; she looked so peaceful, wary tension no longer sharpening every expression on her beautiful face. Something about the scene tugged at his numbed heartstrings though, worry. Perhaps it was the way her body had introverted, curled up defensively against the seat, or the taunt nature of her jaw even in sleep… He shook his head to clear it of such unnerving thoughts, even if something had troubled her in the past, she was home now. Reassured, he touched her shoulder gently, waiting until her eyes had blinked open and regained their focus before he spoke, "We're here."

Cathy flashed him a bright smile, although Charlie somehow knew there was nervousness behind it, and promptly sat up, hastily pushing her long hair out of her face as she said, "Oh, that's great Charlie, thanks so…"

Charlie however had noticed something when she revealed her face which made him interrupt her sharply, "What happened?" he asked urgently, pointing to the half healed bruise on her face that signalled a black eye and noting the cut which notched her one of her delicate eyebrows.

Cathy instantly froze, her hand curled around the door hand. "Oh…" She stuttered for a second, her expression blank before it transformed into a weak, distracted smile. "I had a bad fall a little while back, it was…stupid of me really…" She breathed a half-hearted laugh.

Charlie had seen enough in his career however to see straight through that, focusing instead on what his skilled eye now saw, cursing himself for not putting the pieces together earlier. "And that?" he asked quietly, indicating the striation marks which reddened the wrist of her hand which was starting to open the door.

Cathy met his eye briefly before bringing her hand back into her lap, running her finger uneasily over the angry skin as she sighed brokenly, her voice a hoarse whisper, "It's not what you think…"

Charlie forced himself to take a deep breath, pushing to the back of his mind all the scattered excuses he'd gotten when called out to domestics, "It's not what you think Officer, I walked into a door…" He suppressed a shudder, for a moment not wanting or able to believe he was hearing these same lines from the mouth of his old friend's little sister, for lines were what they were and everyone involved, from the cops to the woman's kids, always knew… He turned until he was facing her as directly as he could in a car and said solemnly, "I'm a police officer Cathy. I know what going on and believe me I know what they can turn into." He paused, sighing heavily, "But I can also help you, you understand that right?"

"I…I do." Cathy mumbled, her defences starting to crumble under his gaze. Any sense of awkwardness about him had disappeared, now she had a deeply emphatic, but also deadly serious, man gazing at her pleadingly, honestly asking her to let him help. When was the last time someone had looked at her like that? She glanced out of the window towards the comforting golden light emitted by her family home, and gathered her strength and resolve together once more. "Thank you Charlie." She murmured, placing what she hoped was a reassuring hand lightly over his, "But I've…finally helped myself. It's over." She told him thickly, "I'm home now after all."

Charlie hoped he hid from her the disbelief which flashed through his rational mind, she was still scared after all, and instead let his desperate hope for her enter his normally reserved eyes. "Yes, you are, and that's good." He answered kindly, but still couldn't help shifting uncomfortably in his seat at the thought of just dropping the subject which was obviously torturing her.

"Yeah…" Cathy mumbled, wincing in fear as she noticed his unease. "Please don't say anything Charlie…."

Charlie grimaced, he'd been dreading this. "Cathy, I…"

"_Please_!" Cathy cried out pleadingly, "I know you feel you owe Harry but…"

"It's not about that." Charlie clarified quickly, "This is about _you_. You'll need his support to get through this…"

"I know." Cathy agreed hurriedly, "I will tell him Charlie, I promised myself I would."

Charlie exhaled the breath he'd been unconsciously holding when he read her earnest expression. "Okay." He replied quietly, opening his own car door and climbing out without another word, although Cathy could see his troubled expression in the semi-darkness as they headed for the house together.

* * *

><p>Harry, having sobered up a great deal since Charlie had left, saw his sister's approach with a relatively clear head, anxiety dominating anger as he strode to the threshold to meet her. "<em>WHERE HAVE YOU…" <em>He started to sign to her, stopping dead when he saw her bruised face and heard Sue gasp from behind him. "What happened to your face?" he choked out, forgetting to sign in his shock.

Cathy gave a non-committal shrug, her expression tired as a sheepish smile flickered across her features, "I tripped off a bus on the way up here." She explained hurriedly, perhaps a little too hurriedly, "I forgot how the rain up here makes the steps as slick as an ice rink." She continued with a wobbly laugh.

Sue tried not to read into the pained frown which lingered on Charlie's face at Cathy's words and instead ran a hand through her shoulder length hair before saying, "I'll got some leftovers heated up for you Cathy, if that's okay?"

Cathy smiled warmly at her sister-in-law. "Of course it is Sue, I'm lucky to get that when it's so late…" She responded apologetically.

"_IT'S NO TROUBLE_." Sue signed back firmly before turning back to Charlie, "You're welcome to stay too Charlie, you must be starved after that long drive…" She saw Cathy blush, obviously ashamed that she'd pulled Charlie away from dinner earlier.

Charlie shook his head. "No thanks Sue, I've got morning patrol, I'd better be getting back." He shouted through to Billy in the living room, "You ready for a lift back home Billy?"

Billy walked through, smiling sleepily at Cathy in welcome before answering Charlie. "Yesh pwease old man, Sarah's gonna kill me…" He slurred.

"I don't think so." Charlie replied good-humouredly as he took his tipsy friend by the arm to lead him out to the car. "I'll see you soon." He said quickly to Harry, Sue and Cathy.

Cathy relaxed in relief; he wasn't going to say anything! "_THANK YOU_." She signed slowly to Charlie, with more meaning behind the simple movement than any of the others realised.

"Sure." Charlie muttered. His lips were barely visible as he bowed his head and then hastily left with Billy in tow.

* * *

><p>Within a few minutes of Cathy sitting down to her belated dinner, the three of them had exhausted simple topics, Leah, work and so forth, and after this state of conversational drought had lasted a few more minutes, Cathy forced herself to say something, <em>anything<em>. Despite this vow, she was still surprised by what she ended up asking, "What's happened between Charlie and Renee? He really shut down when I brought her up; last time I was here he couldn't shut up about her…"

"_YOU HAVEN'T BEEN HERE IN A WHILE_." Harry pointed out tersely before sighing heavily, "_SHE LEFT HIM_." He explained, his sympathy for his friend evident in his face.

Cathy felt her lips part in shock, heat flooding her face. "_LEFT HIM? BUT HE ADORED HER…"_

Sue tapped her shoulder to get her attention. "_SHE TOOK THEIR DAUGHTER WITH HER TOO."_

Cathy gulped, the suffering involved in this situation starting to sink in. "_HE HAD A DAUGHTER? WHEN?"_

"_LAST SEPTEMBER." _Sue answered, a smile briefly lighting her shadowed face. "_HER NAME WAS B-E-L-L-A._" Sue lapsed into speech as her anger reignited, "That stupid woman walked out on him in January and took his baby with her!"

Cathy lurched out of her chair, rage suddenly burning within her. "_THAT BITCH!" _She signed furiously, ignoring Harry's frown of disapproval at her language. "How could she do that to him?" she asked bitterly as she saw Sue nod in agreement with her exclamation.

"If I knew I'd tell you." Sue replied sadly before adding, "She's broken him so badly he doesn't even have the heart to divorce her."

"They're not divorced?" Cathy gasped in disbelief, mentally adding, he must still love her… She grimaced, her shoulders slumping in sudden exhaustion. "_DO YOU TWO MIND IF I GO UP TO BED_?" she asked.

Harry gave her shoulder an understanding, if worried, squeeze. "_OF COURSE NOT. YOUR ROOM IS THE WAY YOU LEFT IT_." He replied, reluctantly decided to leave what exactly had brought her back until the next day.

**A/n: PLEASE REVIEW! :D**


	4. Chapter 4

Cathy grimaced slightly as she applied a second layer of arnica cream to the omnipresent bruise above her eye, through the memory of how it had been inflicted hurt more than the dull ache she felt as she rubbed the cream in. Peering further into the mirror, she sighed as she realised it wasn't fading as quickly as she hoped, but she thankfully had plenty of experience by now in hiding such things. She shuddered as she pulled out a tube of heavy duty foundation, getting it on the face had been new; previously he'd just restrained her. She should be _grateful _for the mark; it had been the straw that had broken the camel's back…

She pushed such unpleasant thoughts to the back of her mind, where she longed hopelessly for them to stay, and stepped out of the Clearwater's tiny bathroom only to crash into Harry walking towards her room. "Oh, I'm sorry Harry, I wasn't looking…" She muttered sheepishly, barely looking at his lips to watch for a reply as she distractedly tugged the long sleeves of her shirt down over her wrists.

Harry's eyebrows rose at her covered up attire, Washington State may be famously wet but it was still warm in June. He decided to ignore it as he had most of his sister's odd behaviour in the three days since she'd been back on the res and instead broached what he'd come to tell her. "It's okay; I was looking for you anyway." He said before switching to sign, after so many months of not seeing his sister his command of her first language was slightly rusty. "_I RECONNECTED YOUR TTY PHONE FOR YOU. YOU CAN TALK TO YOUR FRIENDS_." He told her, a cheery, hopeful, smile on his face.

Cathy however, was pensive. "_YEAH, MAYBE_." She agreed, her signs stiff and half-hearted. "It would be more useful if I ever find a job."

"I've already asked around, you'll get something." Harry assured her, although both siblings were privately well aware that there weren't many jobs in La Push for anyone, let alone a young deaf woman. "You can do some research at the bonfire party tonight."

"_BONFIRE PARTY_?" Cathy queried quizzically, her hands now making big emphatic movements in her surprise before she placed them firmly on her hips. "You didn't arrange this for me did you Harry? I told you I didn't want a big fuss…"

"Sarah and Sue organised it, the whole tribe are coming to welcome you back home." Harry informed her, hurt evident in his face. "I just thought you needed some cheering up that's all. You used to love the bonfires out on First Beach…"

Cathy's face softened as guilt began its familiar route into her heart. "I still do, I'm sorry Harry. I just didn't think everyone would be that bothered about me coming back, it's not like I've done anything amazing…" Quite the opposite, she added silently in her mind.

Harry took her firmly by the shoulders, studying her face worriedly. Where had his lively little sister gone? It just wasn't like her to be so downbeat. "Not many of us up here get the chance to go to college up here, let alone graduate with honours, remember?" he reminded her pointedly, giving her shoulders a final squeeze before letting his hands drop to sign, _"WE'RE ALL PROUD OF YOU HERE, THIS IS YOUR HOME._"

Cathy felt her eyes blur with tears but quickly hid them by hugging her brother, pressing her face momentarily into his shirt. It shocked her how much that simple sentence meant to her, how much pain and relief seemed to mingle within her at the thought of acceptance. "I've…missed you Harry." She admitted, having to hope her sudden tears didn't choke her speech.

He'd obviously heard her as he pulled back so she could see him. _"ME TOO." _He agreed simply, a pleading expression settling on his still young but careworn face as he continued, "_WHAT HAPPENED IN DC? I KNOW THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG_…"

Cathy shook her head fervently, "No Harry, I'm back here now, so it doesn't matter anymore, right?" Seeing him open his mouth to argue, she began to turn away, signing rapidly, "_I'M GOING FOR A WALK RIGHT NOW, WE'LL TALK LATER_."

She saw Harry's body shake with a heavy sigh of resignation as his hand snapped out to hold her back, his dark gaze avoiding hers. "If you're going out, walk over to Charlie's and invite him to the bonfire. He's shut up at home too much."

Cathy nodded slowly, glad of the escape but dreading having to face Charlie, who'd guessed more of her current situation than she _ever_ wanted Harry to know. "_OKAY_." She replied hurriedly with a small shrug before rushing headlong down the stairs.

* * *

><p>At first she resisted going to Charlie's, instead striding off defiantly in the other direction, but soon enough, as the fresh, cleansing forest air calmed her, she realised she wasn't being fair, after all Charlie had kept his word to her faithfully so far, and trudged down the well worn path to the forest edge where La Push met Forks, the first landmark being the Swan house. A gasp rattled her chest as she caught sight of the once familiar building. It had once been neat and trim, its porch laced by the sweet smelling roses and wisteria beloved of Elizabeth Swan, Charlie's late mother, but it was now hardly recognisable. The neglect was heartbreakingly obvious, the clapboard front that Charles Swan Senior had repainted like clockwork every summer in shining white was grey and peeling, the old flowerboxes unfilled. It said that a house reflected its owner, but she didn't want that to be true of this depressed, lifeless little house. Tentatively, she stepped onto the porch, feeling the wood sink under her feet as it took her weight. She pressed the doorbell repeatedly, not sure, by looking at the battered, rusted button, if it worked and finally resorted to giving the door a few good hard knocks.<p>

It was several minutes before Charlie yanked the door open, his dark eyes, shadowed with exhaustion, widening at the sight of Cathy. "Cathy!"

"I'm sorry, I rang the doorbell." Cathy said apologetically, shaken by his dishevelled appearance. "If you're busy, I'll…"

"No, no…" Charlie said, turning to look sheepishly at the broken doorbell and saying something, but hindered by his moustache as well as having to lip read him at an angle, Cathy didn't understand him.

"Can you repeat that?" she asked shyly, touching his arm gently, "When you're not looking at me, with your moustache, I can't see…"

"My moustache?" Charlie asked, now facing her as she blushed in embarrassment, worried she'd been rude, but Charlie surprised both her and himself by laughing. "It probably looks pretty strange when I'm talking right?" Now that he thought about it, he couldn't really remember why he'd grown facial hair, other than Renee having a thing for Magnum P.I… He'd also wanted to look less like the rookie he was in the police force, not that he was ever likely to advance either way.

"Right." Cathy admitted with a small smile, grasping desperately for something to say. "I came over to invite you to the bonfire on First Beach tonight."

Charlie ran a stressed hand through his hair, his gaze clouding over distractedly. "I didn't think the tribe had any holidays this time of year, I'll have to check my shifts…"

"Don't worry about it." Cathy assured him hurriedly, "It's just a little welcome home party for me…"

"For you?" Charlie echoed, his cheeks colouring. "Then of course I'll try to come, I didn't mean…"

"I know." Cathy replied with an understanding smile, she didn't want to make him uncomfortable. "But, I'd like to see you there, if you can."

Charlie found himself returning her smile, one he admired every time he met her, with an unexpected ease. "I can." He said impulsively, "You'll definitely see me there for you Cathy."

**A/n: This is shorter than I intended but I'm trying to get back in the swing of this story. I hope you all still like it, PLEASE REVIEW! :D **


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